Preface

After decades of shooting, I have noticed a decline in my quality of hearing. No doubt in part to a lack of using good hearing protection. I have more recently adopted the use of various hearing protection options, and today I bring one of them to you. I’ve been using the Safariland Liberator HP 2.0 headset for several months now, and I think its time to tell you more about them.

Safariland Liberator HP 2.0

Modern hearing protection is incredibly helpful compared to what many of us grew up on. I remember wearing those original old foamies, which were better than nothing but still unpleasant. And then there was the old hand-me-down headphones we used to use for both shooting and riding around in Dad’s airboat. Neither gave great protection, and of course resulted in plenty of yelling in order to communicate.

The Safariland Liberator HP 2.0 headset is a modern electronic advancement. It is an over-the-ear design that uses gel-filled cushions, spring-wire band, and dual microphones to bring in only the sound you want to hear. The Liberator’s are powered by a rechargeable battery using a USB-C connection. You can also power them with dual AAA batteries or a single CR123 lithium cell. The Liberators feature noise cancelling technology with multiple settings to adjust to your liking. Push-button controls allow you to adjust settings and volume, and the stereo mics and high definition speakers will help you with situational awareness.

In the field with the Liberators

Most of my shooting is done with rifles and carbines. But due to an overwhelmingly fun time shooting pistols, I have recently started spending a lot of time shooting them more. I usually don’t care for over-ear protection when shooting rifles, especially since I always shoot suppressed in open country. But for shooting pistols the Liberators are ideal, and I have put them to great use.

I have used other headsets before, but my very first impression of the Liberators was fantastic. The gel filled ear cups are very comfortable, and seal very well to the side of my head. The dual sealing cups block out a great deal of noise.

Turning on the headset was another satisfying experience, when powered up you here a “power on” followed by the sound of your surroundings in great detail. You can adjust the volume to better suit your conditions, a high pitch tone accompanies the volume up button and a low pitch tone accompanies the lower volume button.

Other less expensive headsets cancel noise, and pass voices through to your ears. But they also make it hard to tell where sounds are coming from. The Liberators dual mics give you a 360 degree awareness of where sounds come from.

Until shooting with the Safariland Liberators, I had never realized how valuable this feature is. If you’re out shooting alone it may not be a big deal. But when you are on a live range with others around its nice to know where everybody is, and which direction the shooting is coming from.

Going Hot

As I drew my pistol from my Safariland holster I was excited to get busy with targets. Most 9mm pistols aren’t incredibly loud, but they certainly justify hearing protection. As I went through magazine after magazine I was very quickly enamored with the sound control the Liberators offer. I tried different settings to see which one I liked best, allowing the voices of my friends to come through while blocking out the high impulse noise of gunfire.

The spring suspension of the Liberators holds tight to your head without being uncomfortable. It also doubles to help keep your ball cap in-place when the wind gets out of hand. The Liberators can be swapped to behind the head suspension as well, or to a helmet set.

The three modes allow for differing scenarios, such as mostly quiet other than occasional gunfire. A second one for when there is more ambient noise present such as riding in vehicles. And the third setting is for very loud environments like a Swifty concert where you want to keep all noise suppressed but the voices right around you. All three settings are designed to be compatible with radio transmissions.

While I don’t particularly care for wearing any headset for longer than necessary, I found the Safariland Liberators to be as pleasant as possible. I’ve used the Liberators over the course of many range days, and I have recently distilled my opinions on them.

Pros & Cons

Let’s take a look at the pros and cons I’ve come up with so far:

Pros

• Very comfortable ear cups and spring suspension
• Excellent noise reduction
• Excellent situational awareness with stereo sound
• Three modes for different conditions
• Push-button controls
• Very handsome presentation
• Available in various colors and camo patterns
• American made product
• Rechargeable battery system
• Compatible with other Safariland HP configurations
• Not huge, can be used without stock interference

The comfort and ease of operation make the Liberators an excellent choice for hearing protection. They are easy to use, and always ready with long battery life and ease of recharging. And they are good looking too, and the custom color options will match your best mall-ninja outfit. The Liberators truly shine because of the quality audio, and how they help your directional hearing.

Cons

• Your ears can get sweaty
• Not inexpensive

The only downsides I could come up with about the Liberator was of course the cost, as they are more expensive than other options. And as with any over-ear headset you are likely going to sweat when it gets hot or if you live in Houston.

Conclusion

I have really grown to appreciate good ear protection. And having used the Liberators for around six months, I can say they are an excellent product. If you need or desire professional grade hearing protection, I don’t think you could go wrong with the Safariland Liberator HP 2.0. I will continue to use these and others to see how they compare and endure, make sure you follow for more.

-CBM

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